Join us in store for the launch of prizewinning poet Romalyn Ante's debut novel The Left-Behind Child.

Waterstones Wolverhampton is delighted to host the launch of Romalyn Ante's new book, The Left-Behind Child.

Prizewinning poet, nurse, and now debut novelist Romalyn will be reading from and talking about The Left-Behind Child. There will be a chance to ask questions and chat to Romalyn, and to get signed copies of her books, including acclaimed poetry collections, Antiemetic for Homesickness, and AGIMAT.

About the book: A mother forced to leave her family. A daughter forced to reckon with what is left behind.​​​Lipa, Philippines, 2001. Neneng is 11 when her mother, Rosa, leaves to work as a nurse overseas: abandoning Neneng to care for a distant father, unsettled relatives and rebellious siblings. Their home shatters, and Neneng finds herself facing womanhood alone. From that point on, she vows never to become a nurse, and never to trust her mother again.But Neneng is more like the strong-minded Rosa than she realises. As Neneng fights to survive and build a new life, the darknesses in the family’s past come to light, and the reasons why Rosa needed to leave become clearer. When a twist of fate brings a new mother figure into her orbit, Neneng will come to understand why the profession of nursing matters so deeply to Rosa and – when crisis strikes – what ‘care’ means to Neneng.

About the author: Romalyn Ante FRSL is an award-winning Filipino-born British poet, novelist, and editor. She is based in the Midlands and currently sits on the editorial board for Poetry London.​​Romalyn was born and raised in Lipa, Philippines, and migrated to the UK in 2005. She writes in English as her second language. In 2012, she began writing poetry after completing her nursing studies and becoming a registered nurse.​Her debut collection, Antiemetic for Homesickness (Chatto, 2020), was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. It was Observer’s Poetry Book of the Month, and was named as one of The Poetry School’s Best Poetry Books of 2020. Her second collection, AGIMAT (Chatto, 2024), was awarded the Society of Author's Arthur Welton Award, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation and Observer Poetry Book of the Month.

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